A father has told how he saved his newborn baby’s life when he was born suddenly at home with his umbilical cord wrapped around his neck.

Ashley Edwards, 35, was forced to deliver his son, Toby, when his wife, Kimberly, 30, realised the baby would not wait until they got to hospital.

However, when Toby was born, Mr Edwards was shocked to realise that he was not breathing.

Ashley Edwards delivered baby Toby when his wife, Kimberly, suddenly went into labour at home. She was only 35 weeks pregnant and Toby was born within an hour of contractions starting

He told the 999 call handler, Megan Llewellyn at East of England Ambulance Service, who talked him through the birth, and she explained how to remove the cord from the baby’s neck to allow him to breathe.

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‘Thankfully Megan was brilliant. She calmly talked me through what to do.

‘She told me to slide a finger under the cord gently pull it away from the neck and over the head.’

Mrs Edwards was 35 weeks pregnant when, on July 20, she started to feel contractions.

Toby was not breathing when he was born because the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck. A 999 call handler explained to Mr Edwards how to remove it so that the baby could breathe

Toby (pictured with his sister, Sophie) started breathing as soon as Mr Edwards removed the umbilical cord from around his neck. He and his mother were taken to hospital by paramedics shortly after his birth

She called her local hospital but was told that they were probably Braxton Hicks contractions – practice contractions.

However, this was not the case, and within an hour it was clear that baby Toby was on his way.

Mr Edwards called 999 at 11.41am and answered a series of questions from Ms Llewellyn.

The answers informed the call handler that the baby would be delivered imminently.

Mr Llewellyn said: ‘I encouraged him to apply firm but gentle pressure to stop the baby delivering too quickly and advised him to support the shoulders and hips of the baby.

Mr Edward's 999 call was answered by Megan Llewellyn (pictured with Toby and Mr and Mrs Edwards). She talked Mr Edwards through the birth and told him how to remove the cord from around Toby's neck

Ms Llewellyn said: 'I remember letting out a deep breath when I heard Toby cry for the first time, I didn't even realise I'd been holding it'

‘He was incredibly calm and was really listening to my instructions. Within five minutes of the 999 call being made, the baby had been delivered.’

However, Mr Edwards immediately realised that there was something wrong with the baby as he was not crying.

He could see that the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck and that he was not breathing.

However, to his relief, when he removed the cord, Toby started breathing and began to cry.

Toby (pictured shortly after his birth) is now a happy, healthy baby despite his traumatic birth

Mr Edwards said: ‘I don’t think I realised up until then how much I’d been panicking.

‘I don’t know what would have happened had we not rang 999. Megan’s reassuring voice calmed me and got me through it all.’

Ms Llewellyn remained on the phone until an ambulance arrived to take the trio to hospital.

Mr Edwards said: ‘I went from the pure elation of seeing my son being born, to absolute fear when I realised he wasn’t breathing.

‘It was the scariest moment of my life but Megan was able to talk me through what to do and thankfully he started breathing.

‘I have never been as relieved as I was when I heard him start to cry and I can’t thank Megan enough.’

Mrs Edwards said: ‘I suddenly started experiencing a lot of pain on the Saturday and it quickly became apparent that the contractions were so close together that I couldn’t move anywhere.

‘My husband rang 999 and within five minutes, Toby had been born.

‘I’m so grateful to Megan for guiding Ashley through the delivery, and I’m really proud of my husband for not panicking.’

She added: ‘It must be scary enough to have to deliver a baby, but to then realise he wasn’t breathing was terrifying.

‘Thanks to Megan’s calm instructions, though, Toby was soon breathing and crying – he’s certainly got a healthy set of lungs on him.

‘We’ll never forget his dramatic birth and we’ll always be grateful to Megan and everyone involved at the ambulance service.’

Mr Edwards said: 'I really started to panic when I realised my baby wasn't crying. Thankfully Megan was brilliant. She calmly talked me through what to do.' Toby is pictured with his brother, Harry

Mrs Edwards said: 'I'm so grateful to Megan for guiding Ashley through the delivery, and I'm really proud of my husband.' Image shows Ms Llewellyn with Toby, Mrs Edwards with Harry, and Mr Edwards with Sophie

The couple, who also have a three-year-old daughter, Sophie, and an 18-month-old son, Harry, have recently been to meet Ms Llewellyn at the ambulance call centre.

Mrs Edwards said: ‘We found it interesting to be able to visit the call centre and meet Megan as well as other staff member who assisted Megan on that day.

‘We didn’t realise how many people are involved when you make a 999 call to ensure the correct resources are sent out to assist with the emergency.'

Ms Llewellyn says that it was really special for her to be able to meet Toby as she has helped deliver babies in the past but has never heard the outcome before

Ms Llewellyn said: ‘It’s not the first time that I’ve helped deliver a baby over the phone but it’s certainly quite rare and it’s amazing to actually get to meet the parents and the baby who you helped.

‘Often as a call handler we don’t get to hear how an incident turns out so to actually meet baby Toby was fantastic.

‘I remember letting out a deep breath when I heard Toby cry for the first time, I didn’t even realise I’d been holding it.

‘I was just doing my job that day but I’m so glad I was able to make such a difference to the Edwards family.’

TRANSCRIPT OF THE 999 CALL BETWEEN MR EDWARDS AND MS LLEWELLYN:

Mr Edwards: 'I can see a head. The head is getting there.'

Ms Llewellyn: 'Help is already on its way. I will tell you exactly what to do until they arrive.'